Windsor, UK – March 26, 2013 – 2K and Irrational Games today announced that BioShock® Infinite from Irrational Games is now available for Windows PC, the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. The highly anticipated narrative-driven first-person shooter has critics raving and is the highest rated* game of the year, with perfect review scores of 10 out of 10 from Game Informer, 10 out of 10 from Eurogamer, 4 out of 4 stars from USA Today, and many more.

“Today’s the day we’ve been looking forward to. Our redefinition of BioShock is ready to be delivered from our hands to those of gamers around the world,” said Ken Levine, Creative Director and co-founder of Irrational Games. “We believe Infinite is very much a BioShock experience, but at the same time something very fresh that both fans of the original and newcomers to the series will be able to enjoy.”

“2K and Irrational Games are committed to bringing players experiences they cannot find anywhere else,” added Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “From the crumbling city of Rapture to the clear skies of Columbia, we’re proud to help Irrational Games bring their unique vision to players around the world.”

BioShock Infinite puts players in the shoes of U.S. Cavalry veteran turned hired gun Booker DeWitt. Indebted to the wrong people and with his life on the line, DeWitt has only one opportunity to wipe his slate clean. He must rescue Elizabeth, a mysterious girl imprisoned since childhood and locked up in the flying city of Columbia. Forced to trust one another, Booker and Elizabeth form a powerful bond during their daring escape. Together, they learn to harness an expanding arsenal of weapons and abilities as they fight on zeppelins in the clouds, along high-speed Sky-Lines, and down in the streets of Columbia, all while surviving the threats of the air-city and uncovering its dark secret.

*Based on Metacritic average ranking across available platforms as of March 25, 2013.

nin wrote on Mar 28, 2013, 23:37:So how long did it take you to finish? I tend to poke a bit and explore, but hope to really get rolling this weekend.

Really does seem like a fantastic game, and it's made me nostalgic to see Rapture again...they both really do seem like these amazing worlds.

I tried *really* hard to be exhaustive, and I think I came in around 12 hours on medium. I wasn't exhaustive though. I missed 15 or so voice records, a half dozen film station/binoculars, and a couple of secret rooms, and didn't die much. So if you get them all, probably figure close to 15 hours, especially on Hard.

I'll replay on 1999 mode too.

Part of the problem was that right around when Elizabeth has her costume change in the plot (no spoilers) I kind of threw up my hands and went with it like it was a roller coaster. I wasn't nearly as exhaustive as I was in the second half of the game.

And they absolutely fixed the "best part of the game was 2/3 through" that Bioshock had with confronting Ryan. The best parts of the story get saved for right up to the ending, and I appreciate it a LOT.

However, I have a lot of questions about the story. Not bad questions, but more along the lines of "what does this implicate?" questions.

But yeah, explore, look at the artwork, the engravings, the windows, there's a lot of storytelling going on. Go through the carnival in the beginning, let Elizabeth explore the beach. It doesn't seem like much but it lets the world really help come to life.

I only wish... no I won't say anything. But people who have finished the game probably share the same wish that I did.

Most of the time game endings are letdowns, or anti-climactic. Yeah, the ending was a prolonged cutscene, but it worked really, really, really well. Probably the most satisfying ending in a game that I can remember, and that's saying something considering that I thought Spec Ops had a strong ending.

Between the original BioShock and BS:Infinite, I almost have to give the nod to BS:Infinite. Yeah it's rehashed the combat, but if you play to the end there's sort of real reasons why BS:Infinite feels a little derivative. While I dug Rapture... I wasn't left with questions and contemplation like I was with Infinite.

Edit: Ken Levine is probably my favorite game developer of all time. The worlds he builds are enduring, interesting, and fantastic.

Careful, that looks like a grey market CD key site. While I have used similar ones in the past once or twice, just be aware of what you are getting into if you go that route. Some games have had CD keys revoked, or disabled if you weren't in the same region as the key (usually from russia/china kinda places)

It was indeed an Asian key, which I wasn't aware of when I bought it. Hmmz..

If it activated in steam fine and you have english language while playing the game, you are likely ok. Worst case scenario is that the publisher revokes the keys and you have to buy it again, but thats a very small number of games that companies have done that to.

As long as people know the risks, more power to them if they want to get it from the grey market.

Careful, that looks like a grey market CD key site. While I have used similar ones in the past once or twice, just be aware of what you are getting into if you go that route. Some games have had CD keys revoked, or disabled if you weren't in the same region as the key (usually from russia/china kinda places)

It was indeed an Asian key, which I wasn't aware of when I bought it. Hmmz..

Careful, that looks like a grey market CD key site. While I have used similar ones in the past once or twice, just be aware of what you are getting into if you go that route. Some games have had CD keys revoked, or disabled if you weren't in the same region as the key (usually from russia/china kinda places)

NegaDeath wrote on Mar 27, 2013, 15:46:Has anyone else had sound issues? I just can't figure it out and I can't find my issue on forums. The audio is flat and hollow, there is no base or treble on voices or sound effects and yet music sounds fine. When a voice line hits a high note it breaks up a little. Sound primarily comes out of the center speaker yet surround is working as conversations will move to other speakers as you turn. It just sounds so weak and none of my other games are like that, even Bioshock 1. I can't imagine they'd ship the game like that so I'm assuming its something on my end (yes drivers are updated, speaker connections are ok, etc).

Not heard of that. I feel semi lucky, as it seems to run decent on my system, with minimal hiccups (which, based on a steam thread, seem to be common, possibly related to loading assets).

edit: How many speakers do you have windows set to? And what happens when you bump windows down to 2 channel stereo?

Krovven wrote on Mar 27, 2013, 07:24:I've played some more and I have to admit the game is getting better. Still not a fan of the whole religious theme.

Equipable gear with bonus effects (new), Vigors (spells) have a primary and alt ability (new). The alt ability so far is just a trap form of the primary attack. There are upgrades in the vending machines. As someone mentioned already though, there doesn't seem to be weapon upgrades.

Control on the rails is solid. I was a little worried about this.

Lots of little things to praise, but also lots of little things to complain about too. Lack of modern graphical features aside, the game looks great. The artists did an amazing job.

There are weapons upgrades. There are 3 types of vending machines: Tonic enhancers, weapon enhancers, and item shops.

And yes, you can possess the vending machines and they'll puke up money. But it's like 10 bucks. Not enough unless you've got a bunch of salts in the area.

Also, the tonics interact. Hit someone with your crows and then electrocute them, and you have shock crows. There's other interactions I won't go into, but you have to experiment. That's why you have two tonic quickslots: so you can give them a 1-2 tonic punch.

Has anyone else had sound issues? I just can't figure it out and I can't find my issue on forums. The audio is flat and hollow, there is no base or treble on voices or sound effects and yet music sounds fine. When a voice line hits a high note it breaks up a little. Sound primarily comes out of the center speaker yet surround is working as conversations will move to other speakers as you turn. It just sounds so weak and none of my other games are like that, even Bioshock 1. I can't imagine they'd ship the game like that so I'm assuming its something on my end (yes drivers are updated, speaker connections are ok, etc).

I think the reason there aren't many advanced graphical features is due to the fact that the world is rendered as semi-open, there are only a few true loading moments and I've never witnessed any pop-in...honestly, I'll take a more seamless world over fancy graphical effects that have no impact on overall gameplay.

Just finished 1999 mode, according to Steam I have 13 remaining achievements to get, the majority being Kill X in Y way style. Also need to get the last few Voxophones and telescopes that I bet are mostly behind the Vox Ciphers that I got screwed out on getting due to story progression faults.

Fantaz wrote on Mar 27, 2013, 09:01:So, should I wait for the GOTY edition or buy it now?

You can pick it up for $45 at GreenManGaming. If you wait you'll get it cheaper and maybe with some DLC. Of course the story will probably be spoiled by then. Your call man. I'm near the end, about 13ish hours and no regrets for what its worth.